The article (and in fact most similar articles I have read) seem to take nothing into account regarding automatic and manual gearboxes. There is a massive difference between talking on a phone whilst changing gear and whilst driving an automatic car. It would be an interesting comparison and it is certainly far more dangerous in general to speak on a phone whilst driving a manual. Having to change gear whilst keeping a phone to your cheek (generally with your other hand) is magnitudes more dangerous than plodding along in an automatic...

Nope, never said that. I said the ease of cross platform compatibility. It's a hell of a lot easier to get HTML to render the same across platforms than it is for an android app to 'render' the same on an iPhone!

The same argument holds for any platform. A native app will always be quicker. One of the advantages of web apps in any scenario is the ease of cross platform compatibility. In the mobile world this holds true even more so than on the desktop. If they can push this kind of development (especially with the hardware capabilities of modern phones) it would be great for phone hardware in the long term.